The present invention is concerned generally with a bowing press, and particularly with a bowing press for shaping an article including natural fibers.
It frequently is desirable to form substantially flat articles into a bowed shape for functional or decorative purposes. When the article to be shaped includes natural fibers, a risk exists that the bowing will damage the fibers, resulting in splintering or other undesirable conditions.
Articles including natural fibers, such as hardwood splints, may be formed into a bowed shape manually. For example, the article may be wetted to increase its pliability, manually bent into conformance with a mold or other shaping device, secured in this conforming position, and allowed to dry.
Manual bowing methods have numerous disadvantages. The manual bending of the article may be physically difficult to accomplish, particularly when this task is to be performed repeatedly. In addition to the physical difficulty of the manual forming and the risk of acute injury associated therewith, repetitive motions, such as those associated with manual bowing methods, may result in chronic injury in some individuals.
Manual bowing methods also may increase the difficulty of assigning tasks to members of a team responsible for carrying out this and other tasks. Not all members of the group may be capable of performing manual bowing methods, so this factor must be taken into consideration when assigning team members to particular tasks. Thus, the use of manual bowing methods not only reduces flexibility in task assignment, but also may adversely affect the morale of team members.
Articles bowed by manual methods are susceptible to damage during the bowing process. The force necessary to conform an article to a shaping device may not be applied uniformly across the bowed portion, resulting in breakage of the fibers and splintering. The likelihood of fiber damage increases with the angle desired in the shaped object. The presence of irregularities or flaws, such as knots, in the articles to be bowed also increases the likelihood of fiber damage during bowing. Such fiber damage may adversely affect the strength or appearance of the bowed object, resulting in the waste of both raw materials and labor.
Manual bowing methods also are slow and imprecise. Generally, each article must be bowed individually. If the articles are not carefully and fully conformed to a shaping device, the resulting bowed objects may vary from one another in an unacceptable manner.
In addition, manual bowing methods typically require that separate molds be formed for each particular bowed shape desired. These molds are costly to produce and bulky to handle and store. Molds made of wood also are susceptible to physical damage from the stresses of manual bowing as well as to deterioration over time when these molds are used to bend articles that must be wetted before bowing.
An object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles that reduces the physical demands associated with manual bowing methods.
A second object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles that is less labor intensive than manual bowing methods.
A third object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles that is faster than manual bowing methods.
A fourth object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles in which numerous objects may be bowed in a single operation.
A fifth object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles that results in consistent, uniformly shaped objects.
A sixth object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles that decreases damage to the articles during bowing, particularly when the articles include natural fibers.
A seventh object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing articles in which the articles to be bowed are supported upon a substrate during bending of the articles.
An eighth object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method in which the force exerted against the article to be bowed during bending is applied more uniformly.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method for bowing wooden articles that reduces the scrap rate associated with manual bowing methods.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method that requires fewer types of molds or shaping devices than conventional bowing methods, that provides more compact shaping supports for bowing an article, and that provides a shaping support for bowing an article that is more resistant to physical damage than conventional shaping supports.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and method in which the drying time of bowed objects formed from articles that require wetting before bowing is decreased.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for bowing articles that is faster, less labor intensive, and less physically-demanding than manual bowing methods. The apparatus and method of the invention permit the bowing of numerous articles in a single operation and yield consistent, uniformly shaped bowed objects.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method in which pressure is exerted more uniformly upon the article to be bowed, thereby reducing damage to articles during bowing, and particularly to articles that include natural fibers. The present invention also provides an apparatus and method for bowing articles that decreases the scrap rate and permits bowed objects to be formed successfully from articles containing minor flaws or irregularities, such as knots, that would interfere with manual bowing methods.
The apparatus and method of the present invention reduce the number of different shaping supports required to produce bowed objects having a variety of sizes and configurations when compared to manual bowing methods. The present invention also provides shaping supports that are less bulky and easier to store than conventional molds or shaping devices. The present invention also reduces the drying time of bowed objects formed from articles that require wetting before bowing to increase their pliability.
The foregoing objectives are achieved in a bowing press apparatus that includes at least one subassembly. The subassembly is comprised of a housing, a mandrel supported by the housing, a wiper plate connected to the housing and capable of pivoting with respect to the mandrel, and an actuator that exerts a force against the wiper, causing the wiper plate to pivot. The apparatus may be used as follows. A support bearing a substrate is positioned between the mandrel and the wiper plate. The wiper plate is then rotated in relation to the mandrel to conform the supported substrate to a portion of the mandrel. The supported substrate is then removed from engagement with the mandrel. The apparatus may also include a second subassembly which is substantially similar to the first subassembly and is capable of movement in relation to the first subassembly.